


What we are

by Morrie_Wilde



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: BAMF Merlin (Merlin), Canon Era, Canonical Character Death, Established relationship but like make it low key, Fluff, Happy Ending, Magic reveal? Maybe...maybe not? No one knows if Arthur knew but arthur !, Marriage Proposal, Multi, Not beta'd cause im too high on caffeine to focus, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:08:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28980138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morrie_Wilde/pseuds/Morrie_Wilde
Summary: Camelot is barely standing and its people are famished, death knocking on their door. Uther refuses the aid of magic to save his people. It doesn't take long for Uther to pass away. And so, the destiny of the kingdom rests upon the shoulders of two young men.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 136
Collections: merlin fics i read and haven't been the same since





	What we are

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stqrkolmes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stqrkolmes/gifts).



> Written following stqrkolmes comment : "btw of you ever decide to write a king!merthur fic where Merlin gets to be powerful by Arthur's side I would probably die on the spot, I'm such a sucker for BAMF merlin" 
> 
> *downs her second cans of monster* Always at your service my dear! 
> 
> It might not be exactly what you might have had in mind, but here it is nonetheless! Enjoy xX

Camelot was struggling. The last winter had been colder than any elderly could recall. The summer had been dry and the sun had burnt most of the crops. The Kingdom was famished, its animals were deserting the realm, and its inhabitant were counting the grain. The castle had not held a banquet in many moons.

The knights had to end the pain of most of their horses, barely able to stand on all four. Water was becoming rare, illnesses were spreading, and all hope was gone.

In the throne room, Uther was going over reports from all across the land, where the situation was the same, if not worse. He had heard words from Marcia however, which was surviving Mother Nature's temper easily. Rumours had it the sorcerers and witches of the land had joined forces and used their craft to bring back life, per order of Cenred.

Uther clenched his jaw.

“This is an attack on our Kingdom. One can only conclude sorcery is at the heart of our pain.” The king spoke, looking at each person seating by his side. He stared at his son, hoping he would have something else to say.

“It is really unfortunate father, but I do not believe sorcery is the cause.” Arthur finally spoke, lowering his head slightly. In the corner of the room, Merlin nodded, silently agreeing with the Prince. Over the last month, the young warlock had felt life leaving the land, he had felt it being drained, but there was no magic involved. The land was in pain, but the cause seemed to be natural, if not the action of the King himself.

The forests were silent, as all the deer had fled as a result of the many royal hunting campaigns. Rabbits were not long to follow suite. As the meat was getting rarer, the King had ordered a larger production of wheat and root vegetables, but mostly cabbages. Anything which would sustain the kingdom and could be stored for many seasons. And so the kingdom had obeyed. The fields soon became sterile however, and not a single apple had appeared on a tree branch in those last months.

“I believe Sire,” Gaius started before the King could, “that Prince Arthur is indeed right. I’ve conducted many research and there is no sign of malevolent sorcery at play. May I also point out Sire, Camelot is unfortunately not the only one suffering from this current situation. Our misery equals our neighbours'.”

“Our neighbours but Mercia.” Uther gestured to the reports. He was leaned back in his chair, weak. The elderly and children were the first to suffer during this hard times and the King himself was no exception. Gaius had been able to find enough herbs and water to create some sort of energizing beverage, but it had to be rationed. Most of it was kept safe, to be distributed to the army in the event of a coup or attack.

“Father, if Cenred was to blame for the situation, why would he have to rely on magic to feed his people. He is one fierce King, but even I don’t believe he would endanger his people to bring death on the whole island. According to the latest report, he has only been using magic for a full moon cycle. Why wait so long if he knew what was happening?” Arthur quickly glanced at his manservant who was standing, hands behind his back. There was no wine to pour. The two young men had discussed the matter for a lengthy amount of time the previous evening. Merlin pointed out that it only made sense for Cenred to wait before calling for magical aid : if he had gone to sorcerers within the first month, it would only had fed his neighbours suspicions, as this plague was now going for more than a year. One could have easily speculated Cenred would have known it would last this long. In Merlin’s mind, the King of Mercia had been like all the others: hopeful, wishing it would all go back to normal soon enough. Only it did not. Only then had Mercia used magic. And Arthur had agreed.

With not as much of a grunt, Uther dismissed the council. Arthur sighed as he left the room, followed by his manservant. Gaius stayed behind, monitoring the King’s health.

“For an old man, you are holding quite well Gaius.” The king stated whilst the physician examined his eyes.

“I do not have the stress of running a Kingdom sire.” He replied, to which Uther only nodded.

In the castle corridors, Arthur was pacing, hands on his hips. He could not train the knights anymore, extreme exercises being too costly water and food wise. He was going crazy like a lion in a cage.

“If Mercia can survive by using sorcery, then surely magic is not entirely bad, right Merlin?” Arthur pointed a finger at the young man. “Surely, Camelot should do the same, for the survival of its people. Of my people!”

“Sorcery is banned in Camelot.” Was the only thing Merlin could reply. He placed a jacket on Arthur's shoulder, sympathetically letting his hand draw circles on his back. He had tried, on and on, to convince Gaius to let him use his powers. At night, in his chambers, he would often hold a seed in his palm, making it grow into a fruit, juicy and ripe that Gaius and he would share. He had spend countless nights, nose deep in books, looking for a rain spell or anything that would help but nothing. However, his magic was crowling under his skin, screaming to get out. Screaming to help.

______

An other month had passed. Bodies were piling up all around the realm. Arthur stood on the castle balcony. His eyes drifted from hills to hills where dozens of column of smoke were becoming one with the clouds. His people were becoming ashes. Death had become everybody's companion. He turned around, barely containing his tears. The bells of the citadel had been ringing for hours. The lower town was drowned in sobs as the carriage made its way through every small alley. Villagers cried, looking at the pale inert body passing in front of them.

The king is dead.

Gaius placed the time of death early during the night. The consumption of dirty water and the lack of adequate food had been the King’s downfall. An old stab wound must have had damaged the King's kidney a few years back, only accelerating his fall in these conditions.

Merlin had been by Arthur's side at all time. More than once, he asked him if he would turn to magic to save his father. More than once, Merlin had expected the answer to be yes. But until the end, the answer had just been silence.

The last few days, Arthur could not say he loved his father. He could not say he respected the King. Everytime his Merlin brought up magic, Arthur just stared at the cold body in front of him. When Gaius declared the King had passed, Arthur asked for a few minutes alone with his father. Up to his last breath, Uther had looked at his son, sighing a litany of ‘please'. The old man, even though dying, was not deaf and had heard the two young men considering calling a sorcerer into the royal chambers.

So, faced with his father's dead body, Arthur had finally spoken.

“You let your people die. You let Camelot being torn by Death. Don’t you ever think I would have used magic to save you. You deserved to die like they did : in pain and misery.”

He had exited the chambers, walking frantically towards the throne room. All heads had turned to him. Standing before the court, he had spoken these four words, loud and clear, anger taking over any kind of sadness.

“The King is dead.” He had turned towards Sir Leon, and simply stated that he knew what to do.

And that’s how he was standing on the balcony, watching the carriage parading through the alleys of the lower town for allowing the people to bid farewell to their king one last time. Merlin placed a hand on the now King's shoulder. Arthur took a deep breath, letting his hand to rest on Merlin's.

At the announce of Uther's death, a few familiar faces had walked back into the citadel. Lancelot, accompanied by Percival, were the firsts to arrive. Gwaine arrived the same day, later in the evening. Arthur had saluted them solemnly. Elyan had come to offer his service as a blacksmith for the new king, however Arthur had simply asked him to sit down with the rest of them. As his most loyal of his knight, Leon had followed his new king. They were all gathered around the council table.

The doors opened in a loud bang, as Merlin entered the room.

“I will ask you one more time Arthur: would you accept the help of a sorcerer to save your people?” The bells were still crying the disappearance of Uther.

Lancelot smiled to himself : of course Merlin would still seek Arthur's consent. Gwaine raised an eyebrow, feeling like he was missing something, something big. Elyan shared a confused look with Gwen who was standing in the corridor, next to Gaius who was looking directly at the King, almost as a challenge. Leon sat straight, chest high, feeling proud for the first time for wearing Camelot's colours. Percival wondered who were all these people.

Silence fell in the room.

A silence as loud as a thousand words. There were some truths that were never spoken out loud. The court knew Arthur and Merlin were more than Prince and manservant. It was never discussed, not with Uther on the throne. But if there were ever a truth to keep quiet was Merlin's magic. No one who knew were aware whether Arthur knew or not. It was simply not something one would discuss around a warm fire under the stars, for as long as no-one spoke out loud, the truth was nothing but an idea. The veil from fantasy and reality in the form of words.

Arthur gestured to dismiss Merlin, and sat back down. Merlin bowed, letting out a breath he did not know he was holding.

“My Lord.” He solemnly addressed the King before closing the door.

Arthur looked around all his knights, even if a majority of them had never received the title officially, not yet. “If any of you disagree with what is about to unfold within these walls, I will ask you to leave my kingdom, to never come back.”

“My king, it will be an honour to serve you. You have proven in the past your heart, and courage. I will stand by your side, no matter the upcoming events.” Leon had stood up to speak, pledging his services to Arthur. Lancelot, Percival, Elyan and Gwaine followed, bowing ceremonially.

“Albion shall rise. For the love of Camelot.” Arthur exclaimed.

“For the love of Camelot!”

_____

Merlin was running through the castle, his heart pounding, his magic almost uncontainable. From the bottom of the stairs, Gaius, unable to follow the young man, shouted at the top of his lungs. “Where are you going?”

Merlin stopped in his track, peaking his head out of the corridor to see the old mine.

“Oh Gaius! Albion is coming. Don’t worry about where I’m going. Just watch.” He grinned from ear to ear before resuming his mad race. Two by two, he climbed the rest to the top of the Northern tower, the highest of the castle. The wind was messing his hair, the few birds left in the trees stopped chirping. Down in the yard, a few people had stopped, their nose pointed at the sky, eyes on the young man. In the crowd, he recognised the distinctive red fabric, a golden dragon flowing in its middle. Arthur was watching him. His Prince, his King was there, all eyes on the young warlock. Arthur turned around however, when Leon tapped him on his shoulder. The two men exchanged a few words, and Arthur rushed back inside.

At the top of the tower, Merlin let his magic overflowing him. It was warm and loving and caring and it was being set free. He had not find a spell , but realised no spell would do. The earth , the land, the lakes, the sky and the flora had been drained far too long of magic, of love and care. And he was all these things. Slowly, golden orbs appeared around him, floating around like a ballet of fireflies. The wind turned the orbs into strings of lights, being carried gently in the air. It felt like bliss. Merlin watched Mother Nature's taking back what was rightfully hers, delicately, and he could not do anything but smile as the trees turned greener and a swallow chirped above his head. Faintly, he could hear voices coming from the bottom of the stairs.

“His voice can be heard in the wind. All across the kingdoms, Emrys is chanting.”

“Is this why you came back?”

“Camelot's golden age is calling, it is my duty to answer. Uther is no more. Arthur, it would be an honour to serve Emrys, and yourself.”

The golden lights could be seen dancing over the hills. The air smelled of rain and the rumble of water streams could be heard echoing under the stones of the castle. Merlin could feel a presence behind him, a powerful one. The birds sang louder, and the fields turned from a burnt yellow to a new green. Rustling coming from the forest signed the returns of the deer. The golden veil was soon tainted with silver lines, the two flows of magic dancing around each other. Drops of water fell from the sky, flowers rose from the soil. The sky soon became any colour but blue, sorcerers and witches all joining forces within the realm. Greens, reds, whites, golds, silvers and purples were casting their powers in the ultimate love letter to Mother Nature, the forgotten lover of everybody's heart.

Merlin turned around, exhausted. “Thank you.” Without hesitation, they both fell into a warm embrace.

“No, thank you.” Morgana almost cried, finally feeling at peace.

They sighed, as if a dark shadow had been lifted from their shoulders. Cries of joy and children giggling could be heard from the citadel, where most of the lower town had gathered. They made their way down, where they found everybody waiting for them. Gaius looked so proud of Merlin, and the young man liked to believe Balinor would have been just as proud. Gwen bowed, holding her dress on each side. “Milady.” Morgana ran down the last few steps and throw herself in Gwen’s arms.

“I missed you.”

“I really need to comb your hair.” Gwen answered, playing with a lock of Morgana's hair.

Lancelot patted Merlin on the shoulder, before Gwaine snatched him into a tight hug. Leon presented his most sincere thank you. Elyan shook his hand. Percival was by the window, his eyes lost on the sun shining through the rain pouring on the land, smiling. Arthur was leaning against the wall, overwhelmed by the voices coming from outside. Like one man, the people had started to chant “long live the king".

Merlin made his way to Arthur, looking at his feet. They were no more pretending Merlin did not have magic. But did Arthur know before this day? No one could tell.

“Do you hear them?” Arthur asked Merlin, unable to take his eyes away from the man he loved.

“They love you. I told you you would be a great King.”

“They are chanting for their king, that much is true. For which one however?”

Merlin tilted his head, confused. Before he could even start to form an answer in his mind, Arthur had seized his hand, opening it. Carefully, he placed a token in the middle of it, lovingly closing Merlin’s fingers around it.

“It...it’s your mother's...” Merlin mumbled, feeling himself tearing up.

“Long live the king.” Arthur smiled, holding Merlin’s hand in his. They never showed any form of intimacy in public, it was not there thing. They’d rather have a playful round of banter. But this time, just this time, they let the world see what they were : magic, love and care.

They were Albion.

**Author's Note:**

> I really really really love when merthur is an established relationship where they just have those lingering touches and kind of mutual respect, a sort of shyness in public. Idk, love it so that's what they are in this fic. Xx


End file.
